Centrifugal separator



A. u. AYRES 2,276,682

CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR' Flled Nov 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Arthur UAyres W G. M ATTORNEY March 1 7, 1942.

Patented Mar. 17, 1942 nun CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Application November 13, 1939, Serial No. 305,046

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to centrifugal separators, and particularly to centrifugal separators of the general type illustrated in the patent to Leo D. Jones, 1,711,533. In the operation of the machine of that patent, vapors of a substance discharged from a centrifugal rotor are recirculated into the centrifugal cover which originally receives them, by passing them through conduits into a tank, and from that tank through a return conduit to a space from which they are sucked back into said cover.

The machine of the Jones patent is particularly useful in the treatment of lacquers, varnishes and enamels, since it enables the operator to avoid solidification of ingredients of such coating materials by maintaining a recirculation of solvent vapors.

While the machine of the Jones patent has usually given good satisfaction in service, difficulties are encountered in certain minor details of operation, and in the treatment of certain materials. Thus, the restriction to flow through the conduit 22, and the indirect passage of vapors from cover 4 through conduits 4e and 22 in returning them to the cover 5 of that patent limits the return of vapors to the cover 5. Further more, vapors returned into the sleeve 16 are returned on one side of that sleeve only, with the result that the vapors are irregularly returned into the cover 5. As a consequence undesirable I deposits of the discharged material or its oxidation products sometimes occur at parts of the cover 5 which are remote from the point at which the connection 23 enters the sleeve I5, particularly where there is no excess of vapor availf able, due to low throughput rate. Furthermore, a certain amount of contamination occurs in the conduit 22, and this conduit cannot be adequately cleaned, because of its relative inaccessibility, and the fact that it is a flexible conduit.

An object of the invention has been to provide for the recirculation of vapors into the initial receiving cover in such a manner as to avoid the flow restriction limitations discussed above, and the irregular return of vapors into that cover. A further object of the invention has been to provide a machine of this character in which the parts through which the vapors recirculate may be readily cleaned to remove solid deposits. A still further object of the invention has been to provide a machin of this general character, in which the discharge spout through which liquid issues from the machine can be readily swung into any desired position for the filling of receptacles.

The manner in which the above and other objects of the invention have been attained will be evident from a reading of the following specification in the light of the attached drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a machine illustrating the principles of the invention, and

Figure 2 is a detailed vertical section of the cover assemblage.

Referring to the illustrated embodiment of the invention by reference characters, it will be seen that the machine of the invention comprises a rotor It, connected through a drive spindle H to a pulley l2, which may be rotated from any suitable source of power, not shown. Liquid is fed to the rotor It from a conduit [3 through a received in a cover l8, and passed by a spout l8 into a trap 20, to be described hereinafter.

A part of the vapors and/or liquid discharged through outlet ll passes longitudinally of the rotor into a lower cover 2!. The material discharged into this lower cover passes outwardly, and a part of the vapors passed outwardly in this manner are directed upwardly as indicated by, the arrow A and returned into the cover It.

Liquid which passes longitudinally of the rotor from cover iii to cover 2! is discharged through the space between these covers into the trap 2%]. The spout 22 through which liquid is discharged from spout I9 and cover 2i into the trap 20 may be formed integrally with the cover 2 l.

The receptacle 23 into which liquid is discharged from spout 22 may be detachably secured to the spout 22, as indicated at 24, and this receptacle includes an overflow Weir 25 which is well above the lower level of the spout 22, thereby forming a liquid trap in the lower part of the receptacle 23. A discharge spout 26, into which liquid is discharged after passage over the weir Z25, directs the liquid into any suitable receptacle. The cover 2| has an upwardly extending flange 21, and this flange constitutes the lower part of a casing 28 which surrounds the entire cover assemblage. The upper part of the casing 28 is a dome 29, which may be secured in vapor-proof relationship to the flange 27 through a suitable sealing connection, such as the gasket 36.

The upper end 3| of the dome 29 overlies the lid 32 of the cover [8, and the parts 21, 29 and 33 of the casing 28 are spaced from the outer circumference of the cover I8 and the top of the lid 32, thereby affording a continuous passage for vapors discharged into the casing as indicated by the arrow A. Vapors also rise from the body of liquid in the spout 22, as indicated by the arrow B. It will thus be seen that vapors are returned through the casing 28 into the space between the inner circumference 33 of this casing, and the inner circumference 34 of the lid 32 of cover It. Both of these parts surround the neck 35 of the centrifugal rotor, and vapor passed into the space surrounding the neck will be passed downwardly and outwardly and returned into the cover I 8, due to the fact that this portion of the centrifugal rotor acts as a fan to cause the vapors to flow from the portion of small diameter to the portion of larger diameter within the cover I8.

A sleeve 35 is secured in vapor-proof relationship to the top of the dome 29 and to the interior of the bearing support 31, thereby preventing escape of vapors from the machine, and ingress of air.

A feature of the invention consists in the arrangement of the cover assemblage parts described above in such a manner that this entire cover assemblage may be rotated about its hearing 38 on the upper end of the main body of the frame l5. In case the operator wishes to pivot the cover assemblage about this bearing, he first rotates the sleeve 35 to move it upwardly by the action of a screw threaded connection 39 with the bearing support 31, thus relieving the pressure on the gasket 40 and cover assem-' blage. He may then grasp apart of the cover assemblage, such as the spout 27, and rotate the covers, trap and associated parts bodily around the bearing 33. An annular depending flange d2 guides the cover assemblage in this pivotal movement. This possibility of rotating the cover assemblage during the operation of the machine makes it possible to direct the material discharged from spout 2'3 successively into different receptacles without interrupting operation.

The manner in which the objects of the invention have been attained willnow be apparent. Since the vapors may return through the space between the casing '28 and cover l8 directly from v the lower cover to the upper cover, as indicated by the arrow A, and further vapors may be returned to the upper cover from the receptacle '20, as indicated by the arrow B, the return of the vapors to the upper cover is accomplished from zones angularly removed from each other about the axis of the rotor. During the operation of the machine, there is an annular stream of vapor constantly rising through the space between the casing 28 and the outer wall of the cover l8, and returning to the space within the cover [8 through the space between the inner circumference of the dome 33 and th inner circumference of the lid 34. The machine of the present invention is an improvement over the machine of Jones Patent 1,711,533, in that the operator of the present machine is enabled to avoid condensation which was sometimes encountered in the use of the machine of the Jones patent. In the use of this machine, substantial saturation of the vapor within the receiving cover can be maintained, even at low throughput rates. Furthermore, since the dome 29 is detachably mounted on flange 21, and the upper cover I8 is detachably mounted on lugs 4 I, all of these parts may be readily removed from the machine for cleaning, and all parts of these various members are easily accessible for thorough scrubbing when they are removed.

The passage of liquid directly from spout 19 into the trap, instead of passing this liquid through a separate receptacle before it reaches the .trap, also affords a simplified and more convenient arrangement than that of the prior Jones patentand assists in maintaining a condition of substantially complete saturation of the atmosphere within the covers.

Various modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and I do not therefore wish to be limited except .by the scope of the sub-joined claims.

I claim:

1. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through which a liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving cover for liquid discharged through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned cover for receiving vapor discharged from said rotor into said first-mentioned cover, and a casing surrounding both of said covers and spaced therefrom to form a space for return of vapor dis charged into said second-mentioned cover into said first-mentioned cover, said separator including means to impel vapors from said first-mentioned cover to said second-mentioned cover and directly from said second-mentioned cover through said space to said first-mentioned cover, and means for sealing said covers from the outside atmosphere.

2. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through which a liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving cover for liquid discharged through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned receiving cover for receiving vapor of material discharged from said rotor into said first-mentioned receiving cover, a receptacle for liquid discharged from said first-mentioned receiving cover, means for returning to said first-mentioned receiving cover vapor discharged from said first-mentioned receiving cover into said second-mentionedreceiving cover, and means for returning vapor from said receptacle to said first-mentioned receiving cover at a zone angularly removed from the zone of return of the vapor from said second-mentioned receiving cover through said returning means to said first-mentioned receiving cover, said separator including means to impel vapors from said first-mentioned cover to said secondmentioned cover, and directly from said secondmentioned cover to said returning means, and means for sealing said covers from the outside atmosphere.

3. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through which a liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving. cover for liquid discharged through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned cover for receiving vapor discharged from said rotor into said first-mentioned cover, means for returning to said first-mentioned receiving cover vapor of material discharged from said rotor into said covers, means for passing vapor directly from said second-mentioned cover to said returning means, means for passing liquid from said first-mentioned cover to a liquid trap, means for returning vapor of material discharged from said first-mentioned cover into said trap to said first-mentioned cover, said means for returning vapor from said second-mentioned cover and said trap afiording between them a substantially complete annular zone of return of vapors to said first-mentioned cover, said separator including means to impel vapors from said first-mentioned cover to said second-mentioned cover, and directly from said second-mentioned cover to said returning means, and means for sealing said covers from the outside atmosphere.

4. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through which a liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving cover for liquid discharged through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned cover for receiving vapor discharged from said rotor into said first-mentioned cover, a trap for liquid discharged from said first-mentioned receiving cover, means for returning to said first-mentioned receiving cover vapor discharged from said first-mentioned receiving cover into said second-mentioned receiving cover, and mean for returning vapor from said trap to said first-mentioned receiving cover at a zone angularly removed from the Zone of return of the vapor from said second-mentioned receiving cover to said first-mentioned receiving cover, said separator including means to impel vapors from said firstmentioned cover to said second-mentioned cover, and directly from said second-mentioned cover to said returning means, and means for sealing said covers from the outside atmosphere.

5. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through which a liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving cover for liquid discharged 7 for receiving vapor discharged from said rotor' through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned cover into said first-mentioned cover, a spout constituting an outlet from said second-mentioned receiving cover, a second spout constituting an outlet from said first-mentioned receiving cover, and lying within said spout of said second-mentioned receiving cover, a liquid trap formed by said spout of said second-mentioned receiving cover and a receptacle into which liquid flows from said two spouts, and means for returning a vapor from said liquid trap to said first-mentioned receiving cover, said separator includingv means to impel vapors from said first-mentioned cover to said second-mentioned cover, and directly from said second-mentioned cover to said returning means, and means for sealing said covers from the outside atmosphere.

6. In a centrifugal separator, the combination comprising, a centrifugal rotor including an outlet through whicha' liquid is discharged from said rotor, a receiving cover for liquid discharged through said outlet, a separate receiving cover interconnected with said first-mentioned cover for receiving vapor discharged from said rotor into said first-mentioned cover, a spout constituting an outlet from said second-mentioned receiving cover, a second spout constituting an outlet from said first-mentionedreceiving cover, and lying within said spout of said second-mentioned receiving cover, a liquid trap formed by said spout of said second-mentioned receiving cover and a receptacle into which liquid flows from said two spouts, and means for returning vapors from said trap and from said second-mentioned receiving cover to said first-mentioned receiving cover, said separator including means to impel vapors from said first-mentioned cover to said second-mentioned cover, and directly from said second-mentioned cover to said returning means, and means for sealing said coversfrom the outside atmosphere.

ARTHUR U. AYRES. 

